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Finally moved out of apartment this past weekend. Spending the rest of the week in Dexter before heading to PA on Friday. I am glad to be out of my apartment and even more glad to have gotten rid of my couch. I hope it does not become a permanent fixture in Fletchs yard. It may need to become part of the next bon fire. Very busy, very tired, will update later in week. That is all.
Interesting day today. Spent the first half of the day at the court house for my Brothers ongoing custody issues with his ex. I guess I did not think it would take as long as it did because I parked at a 2 hour meter and six hours later when I came out there was a parking ticket waiting for me. I mean really, it is only an extra four hours, no fair. So now I owe Ann Arbor $15. Anyway it seemed to go in his favor and there will be a final decision made next week so everyone is hoping for the best. It is about time some things went his way in this long saga.
Next up was a get together this evening put on my coworkers to see me off before my move next week. I am not having goodbyes, just see you laters. I do not like good byes. It was nice because it was not just another work get-together, but rather just the people that have become my friends while working for the bank. There were even a couple people that I worked with along the way who have moved on to other jobs that came to see me and socialize. Presents were involved that included liquor (surprise), a clock for my new office, and a gift certificate to IKEA. Thanks to Lil for that. Now I can get something besides a couch for my new place. Tomorrow is dedicated to getting rid of my hulk of a couch one way or another.
Study Reveals Pittsburgh Unprepared For Full-Scale Zombie Attack
With the help of Alison and Paul, I got a new couch today. I picked it out at a store locally and they arranged for purchase and delivery in Pittsburgh. Brown, leather, mucho comfort. Yay, I now have something to put in my new apartment and do not have to sit on the floor.
It is getting pretty cold outside these days.
Republicans in Washington do not seem to think that perjury, lies, and cover-ups are crimes.
Coffee spillage does not enhance the style of a silk neck tie.
I am afraid that one day what I am thinking in my head when I am talking to a stupid person will accidentally come out instead of what I should be saying in my politically correct customer service environment at work.
The US Military death toll in Iraq has hit 2000. The toll was 140 at the much hyped End of Major Combat. Sad.
Got an email from Verizon regarding the status of my order for phone service and DSL. It informed me that my order was being worked on and the availability of DSL was being checked in my area for the proper circuitry in my location. The availability? I was curious about being able to order it in the first place if it was not available and also how it could not be known right away. So I set out to try to contact someone in customer service to give me an answer. I would like to know because if it is not available, I will order up internet access through my cable service and possibly do without a land line all together opting for only cellular service. I would like to have as much of this crap taken care of before I move in two weeks. Getting to a live person who speaks English well is a chore in itself, but actually getting an answer is even more challenging. I would think the answers are on someones computer screen, but getting someone to find it is impossible. It may even be like the situation at my company when I try to get internal info from someone, the person may know the answer, but nobody wants to be the one responsible for giving out the information. I guess big corporations need to give customers another excuse to be pissed off at them. And as par for the course, it is the phone reps or customer service people out on the front lines that bear the brunt of hostility for the stupid decisions of the higher-ups. But that is another rant for another time. So anyway, I told Verizon that I wanted someone to get back to me by Monday. We shall see if that happens.
It has been another long week. I feel like I have not had much free time for this site or anything else lately. For the last couple months I have been working ten hour days in order to have an extra day off during the week. This has let me have some extra time to visit Pittsburgh, get ready to move, etc. It also has helped the scheduling, which I am responsible for, at my branch which is short handed as usual. However it can wear you out when you do not adjust your schedule accordingly. Leaving for work at 9:00 and coming home at 8:30 pretty much kills the day since there is little time in the morning or evenings to get things done such as laundry, errands, and appointments. Especially if you are like me and like to have time to wind down from the day. I think this has lead to my inability to get a proper nights sleep. I wake up several times during the night. I think I may try a sleep aid in the hopes of getting a good nights sleep for a few nights in a row. That extra eight minutes my snooze button gives is just not enough.
I talked my way out of a speeding ticket on my way home from work today. I hate that sinking feeling you get in your stomach when you fly by a cop hiding off the road. I usually am not so lucky so I am now going to go buy a lotto ticket. I can dream right?
Yikes, less than three weeks to the big move. Just when I think I have thought of everything I need to do, another task comes up. I still need to figure out how to get this hulk of a couch out of my living room and disposed of in some other manner than leaving it on the side of the road. Maybe I can take it to East Lansing for their next football game and it can be laid to rest in a blaze of glory.
I have discovered over the last couple weeks while connecting with friends old and new, and family that you do not realize how big a part of your life some people are until you are getting ready to move away. Relationships and the routines of daily life are easily taken for granted until they are interrupted or changed. As I do in my career, I guess I see changes as opportunities to forge new paths. The good relationships, whether family or friends, will always be there, I know that. That makes the whole adventure a bit less scary. In fact the closer the date gets, the more I look forward to moving.
If you like The Daily show with Jon Stewart, be sure to catch The Colbert Report right after the Daily Show. And if you do not like The Daily Show, there is something wrong with you and you should get checked out by a doctor. Sarcasm, humor, parody, guests, pointing out that George Bush is stupid, it really has it all.
Are they grooming a replacement host/show for Jon Stewart??? Could he be going to Network TV in the future??? Hmmm….
Today I met Pam for coffee and pastries. We were supposed to meet for an adult beverage and fried mozzarella sticks at a neat Irish Pub in Hartland, but upon arriving we found they did not open for another two hours. So we opted for my other vice, coffee. Pam was the best friend of my mother for over twenty years. She still keeps in touch and we get together a couple times a year to catch up and reminisce. Old memories surface and there is always some new that come up to make for good conversation. From our talks, I always gain a bit more insight into not only their friendship but also my mother’s views on various happenings in the lives of my family over the years and how they can relate to current events as she recounts the special conversations they had. In particular, it is nice to hear some of the things she shared with Pam about my life and the confidence she had in my decisions. Pam told me that even though she worried like a typical mom does, she worried about me the least because she always saw a confident thought process whenever I decided to tackle something. She was able to identify critical thinking before I knew I practiced it. Thinking back, she always did give me a lot of leeway and benefit of doubt even while probably biting her tongue, opting to give support instead. There is also a little present or two involved when we see each other. Today she gave me a nice guardian angel pin/clip. I brought her a couple of my mom’s figurines from her larger Santa Claus collection for her new house. She was very touched as she knew how much my mom liked her collection. I am sure they will have a special place among her Christmas decorations.
Job...Check
Electricity...Check
Phone line / DSL...Check
Cable...Check
Furniture to sit on
after coming home
to watch TV,
surf the Net, and
talk on the phone...DOH !
From MSNBC, reported by Reuters
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9684597/
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Four years ago, Etienne Verhees broke two vertebrae falling off a ladder, after which doctors put a metal plate in his neck to help heal the wound.
This week, the Belgian coughed up one of four screws used to hold the plate in place.
“I have had a cold for the past few days,” Verhees told daily Gazet Van Antwerpen. “I had a terrible cough a few days ago. That’s when I suddenly felt something in my mouth.
“It turned out to be a screw.”
One of the doctors involved told the paper he assumed the screw had moved because of an infection Verhees suffered following a second operation, which caused his neck to swell.
Furniture shopping for a dwelling in another state is a pain when you are not in the same state of said dwelling. I have gone to a couple stores which are both here in Michigan and in Pittsburgh, but I am finding that there will not necessarily be the same merchandise available in both locations. Also, understandably, the commission sales people are not too eager to work to coordinate sales at other locations that they will not get credit or commission for. Another issue is trying to find pieces I like while staying within a creatively planned budget. One place with more possibilities than others does not have locations in Pennsylvania. This makes renting a u-haul a consideration, but then reality sets in and it is just not worth the hassle. I could tie furniture on top of my Grandpas minivan and do the Beverly Hillbillies road trip, but again reality sets in. So I think I need to try to get down to Pittsburgh and shop in person. I do have Alison looking around for me too and she will let me know of any finds.
Spilled coffee in my car today, messy but the car now has a nice fresh roasted smell to it. It is better than a pine tree hanging from my mirror. Sucks that it rained today, could not take my motorcycle to its new storage location for the winter. Hopefully can do later this week.
At Caribou Coffee today I was asked to be a guinea pig for some new hot coffee dessert drinks they came out with. The staff was practicing making them. And the flavor I got to try.....BANANA CREAM PIE. There is now a banana flavored coffee drink. The world is a little better place today.
Jon Heder, aka Napolian Dynamite, is on SNL this week, must watch.....GOSH
Is it bad when you get to work in the morning and the very first thing you do is type up your out-of-office message for email for the NEXT day? I think that means it has been a long week. Got yelled at today by a guy who had all the money in his account garnished. Somehow it was a total surprise to him (yeah right) and he figures it is the fault of the people at the branch. I guess the fact that a court order was sent to the bank is not relevant. Usually I like to show some empathy while explaining the banks position or procedures or policies. I pride myself on my ability to have the patience to let people talk and get things off their chest and show that I care about how they feel and wanting to correct the situation. This makes it easier to explain why things are the way they are. It also helps calm things down when it is a bank error that messed things up rather than the usual customer irresponsibility. But with people who will just not listen or settle down, the trick is to just sit there staring back at them letting them know in a tactfull way that nothing they say will do any good and since you cannot be civil I do not really care. Get all worked up, leave more pissed off than you came and it is all for nothing because I just go back to my day and anything you said is totally forgotten.
Anyhoo, tomorrow is a day off. I'm going out to dinner with my friend Paige. We have not seen each other in a long time and wanted to get together before the move. So I'm looking forward to that. Gotta work this weekend. It will be my last Sunday. Yay.
Long day at work today. Was supposed to work 7 hours today instead of the ten I have been working lately. I was looking forward to coming home at 5:00, but I had to cover for someone again. I am looking forward to my schedule in Pittsburgh. No more evening hours or Sundays. I somehow lost my work keys this past week. There are duplicates, but if keys get lost to the bank, even though they do not have the name of the bank on them, we have to get the locks re-keyed. Oops. Some good news, the bank is giving me a week off with pay when I move so I will have time to settle in a bit rather than having to start right away. Off to bed now…
So much for George Bush searching far and wide for Supreme Court nominees. It seems his appointments whether judicial or political most often are people from his inner circle and those that have helped his stellar (sarcasm) business and political careers. I guess you have to keep the puppet masters close. For a man who can’t complete a whole sentence (seriously, you could insert a montage in the middle of his thoughts) without saying “uh” several times, I am amazed he was elected to a second term. And don’t get me started on Iraq.
Speaking of stupid politicians, Tom Delay has been re-indicted. Gee Mr. Delay, there just might be something to the charges if you get indicted again. Should we go for three times? He says he can still do his job while fighting the charges and having to give up his leadership role. It’s good to know he can still be a hate-filled impediment to progress while trying to stay out of prison. Way to multi-task. I would start in on others like Karl Rove, Bill Frist, Pat Robertson, etc. but by the time I was done I would be depressed, angry, and probably will have thrown up on my computer and nobody wants that.
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Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
- Mark Twain
Fun Day
Went to Greg and Jennas engagement party Saturday and enjoyed a great brunch with the family and met some more members of Jennas family too. After that was watching the UM/MSU football game which ended with a UM victory after a close back and forth game. The evening consisted of a birthday get together for Grace with cake and presents. I even got to see a little of the water polo tournament that Matt played in. I have never watched water polo before so that was kind of neat. So it was a fun day all around.
After signing my lease today, I officially have a place to live in Pittsburgh. I rented a great apartment in a great neighborhood. It is near Alison and Paul and a Starbucks. That is two reasons that make it a great location. Now all I need to do is furnish it. So far the job and living arrangements have fallen into place. Those two things are a big relief to get taken care of. Still, moving is a bit scary. No matter how many aspects I try to control or make happen, there is always some apprehension about, what is for me, such a big step. I know it is something I need to do at this stage in my life and the career opportunities are better, so I will accept the fears and challenges and own them in order to forge ahead.